Nehemiah (Miah) Tagaloa was living comfortably in the world of finance and insurance when the call to train as a teacher became too loud to ignore. He was involved in his church’s children’s ministry and doing volunteer mentoring with troubled youth through Turn Your Life Around (TYLA) and the Avondale Police. At the same time he was loving the money and the lifestyle, but the calling got louder. When he was younger he had always thought he would either become a teacher or a Police officer. The door closed on joining the Police when he was diagnosed with arthritis at 24. He was encouraged to apply to Laidlaw by a friend of his who had graduated with a Laidlaw teaching degree.

Three years on, Miah has enjoyed the learning experience and has felt in his element when out on teaching practicum.

“I love the relational aspect that Laidlaw brings to the teaching programme. The lecturers are passionate and will go out of their way to help you. The classes are small, so you become pretty tight knit - helping and supporting each other through the ups and downs of study, and towards the final goal of getting our degree. Another upside was after working in the CBD concrete jungle for over a decade it was great not having to pay for parking at the Henderson campus!”

Miah graduates with a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) on 10 December. He is excited about starting his teaching career next year with Year 3-4 children at West Harbour School in West Auckland. His dream is not simply to teach children but to connect with parents and instil in them the importance of their involvement at home in education.

Miah’s married to Claire and they have a son Levi, and daughter Evangeline. In his spare time he’s the man at watching sport – give him a remote and a chair and he’s happy!